•CONDITIONS OF THE COUNTRY BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JOSE RIZAL:

1. More than 300 years of Spanish suppressive colonial rule

2. Several attempts, through revolts or uprisings, by the natives to drive the foreign rulers away
were all futile
3. The lack of unity and nationalism seemed to be the culprit
•POLICIES IMPOSED BY THE COLONIZERS
1. Polo- the enforced or compulsory manual labor required for every male native between 16 to 60
years of age.
2. Tribute- tax imposed on every individual or family to pay to the colonial government as a symbol
of vassalage to Spain
3. Encomienda – a system of landholding wherein individuals loyal to Spain were granted land as
trustees
4. Isolation Policy – the natives were banned from engaging in any form of intercourse with their
Asian neighbors.
5. Divide and Rule – the colonizers provoked the natives to fight among themselves thus,
strengthening their hold of power
6. Frailocracy – the rule of the friars or the clergy
•EVENTS LEADING TO THE CHANGE OF SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
1. Intellectual Revolution (Enlightenment)
2. Industrial Revolution
3. Age of Explorations and Discoveries
4. The Opening of the Philippines to World Trade